Jobs: And Away They Go

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It's not like we haven't heard this before. But at some point you would think that the Golden State would see some sort of ray of sunshine in all of these studies on doing business in California. Not the case, it's not even leveling out, it's getting worse. The most recent surveys show businesses are fleeing the state at three times the rate as last year. And, another report shows a third of the 40 most expensive U.S. cities for business in the survey are in California.

"The condition of the state is in a vicious cycle," says Tony Cherin, of San Diego State University. "The state is looking for tax revenue, so taxes are raised but it's driving the businesses that provide the tax revenue out of the state." In fact as a professor of finance, he says he even tells his students that they'll have to look out of state if they want to get a job.

Back in the day, "people wanted to be in the California market," says Alan Gin associate professor of economics at University of San Diego. Businesses wanted to be in California because of the access to the "talent" who were coming out of the UC and Cal State systems.

Even though "green" businesses appear to be the new avenue for jobs, Cherin adds, California isn't making it easy. He says even as an individual, if a person wants to install solar energy in their home, "you have to jump through hoops and taxes and fees. It defeats the purpose, Instead of encouraging it by giving tax breaks, the state is making it more difficult."

Among most expensive cities to do business in California by the 2010 Kosmont-Rose survey are Berkeley, Inglewood and San Bernadino. And if you insist on keeping it here in California, Costa Mesa, Hesperia and the unincorporated areas of Merced County are your best bets.